Blockchain key characteristics and the conditions to use it as a solution

The price of Bitcoin increased around 19 times in the year 2017. This made the investors flock to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that emerged since then. Blockchain, the underlying technology supporting cryptocurrencies, also became popular among the business community during the same period. Bitcoin is the first application of blockchain technology. Although the popularity of cryptocurrencies subsided to some extent in the last year or so, businesses are still optimistic about blockchain and its application in various business processes including supply chain management, internet of things, real estate, healthcare, etc.

In this article, I tried to describe blockchain data structure, properties that make it appealing to businesses, types of blockchain solutions being explored, its limitations, and finally laid out the conditions that justify blockchain to be implemented as a technical solution.

What can a Blockchain do that a traditional centralized database cannot?

Blockchain technology creates a secure, permanent record of transactions between mistrusting actors eliminating the need for a third-party intermediary. Bitcoin, which is the first application of blockchain technology, allows actors to perform financial transactions among themselves without a third-party such as a bank.

Data in a blockchain is not stored in a centralized database with one party…